Schmiedings forfeit home, land in pot farm case

A Rome Township couple decided not to fight a police forfeiture of their house and 23-acre farm where more than 8,000 marijuana plants were seized in June 2011.

A trial on the forfeiture claim by a Michigan State Police drug enforcement unit was scheduled for today in Lenawee County Circuit Court. Instead, Lenawee County Prosecutor Burke Castleberry said he planned to ask the court to appoint a receiver to manage liquidation of the real estate, vehicles, tools and other property seized as the fruits of illegal drug activity.

Edwin and Linda Schmieding, ages 62 and 63, signed an order stipulating that the property shall be kept by the drug enforcement unit now called Region of the Irish Hills Narcotics Office, or RHINO. The order was signed Sept. 11.

The Schmiedings were arrested in June 2011 and charged with conspiracy and manufacturing marijuana. Federal authorities took over the prosecution, which lingered in United States District Court in Detroit until this year.

Edwin Schmieding pleaded guilty in March to a reduced charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Charges against Linda Schmieding were dismissed in June at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

When Edwin Schmieding appeared June 25 for a mandatory five-year prison term, he was instead released on a two-year probation sentence.

Family members and friends had written to the court, asking for leniency based on Edwin’s Schmieding’s age, his continuing battle with throat cancer and the fact he was losing the home and commercial flower farm he had invested his life savings in. The judge agreed it was an unusual case.

“This is one that most screams out: This man deserves a break,” U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said.

“I take full responsibility for my actions,” Edwin Schmieding told the judge as relatives wept in the courtroom gallery. “I’ve lived a hard-working life. I give you my word: I’ll be a responsible citizen.”

After the lenient sentence, he decided to fight forfeiture of his property in Lenawee County Circuit Court.

Attorney James Daly said the couple agreed last month it would be better to walk away from that fight.

“I advised both the Schmiedings to put this behind them and to move on,” Daly said Monday. “The forfeiture laws in Michigan are really tough.”

The lesson for anyone who decides to grow medical marijuana in Michigan is to make sure there are no misunderstandings with any authorities, Daly said.

“If you violate the rules, the penalties are severe,” he said.

The forfeiture agreement turns over to RHINO the house and 23-acre farm at 12501 Rome Road that the couple owned with no mortgage debt. The real estate also includes two greenhouses and a hip roof barn.

An eight-page list of tools, vehicles, equipment and household items was also included in the order. Two John Deere tractors, three all-terrain vehicles, power tools, television sets, guns and $2,255 cash seized at the home were also among the forfeited property.